King Richard's wall, fortress Holy Land

Lets imagine with some strange turn of events the crusades of King Richard are a success and the Catholic Forces are table to hold the Holy Land. They start construction of a huge fortress wall inspired by Hadrian's wall to keep out Salidin's forces. Is this a success? If yes which kind of P.O.D. would this have in Europe and the Middle East??
 
This is not even possible.

I mean, its theoretically possible, but realistically...no. Just, no.

A successful 3rd Crusade is fairly believable, but a Great Wall isn't.

Not to mention that if it was - somehow - built, its impossible to man it with the resources available for the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
 
This is not even possible.

I mean, its theoretically possible, but realistically...no. Just, no.

A successful 3rd Crusade is fairly believable, but a Great Wall isn't.

Not to mention that if it was - somehow - built, its impossible to man it with the resources available for the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

What if concrete had been discovered earlier?

Could a defeat of Salidin have created greater unity between the countries of Catholic Europe? Hence more manpower/troops to build/maintain such a wall?
 
What if concrete had been discovered earlier?

Its not a matter of concrete or the lack thereof. Its an immense building project by the standards of the time.

Could a defeat of Salidin have created greater unity between the countries of Catholic Europe? Hence more manpower/troops to build/maintain such a wall?
No. It would be useful for the continued survival of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and it might make crusades look like a good idea again, but it won't unite Catholic Europe. I'm not sure there's any scenario that can lead to that happening in the Middle Ages for more than a very short while (as in, at most the length of a war or campaign).

And building & maintaining any permanent thing in the Holy Land requires more Catholics (or other loyal subjects) in the Holy Land for the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Unfortunately, a big defeat for Saladin won't lead to that - it might make some difference, but it won't magically make it attractive to settlement.

Besides, it isn't as if the Kingdom doesn't already have castles that can - theoretically, at any rate (which is all the wall can offer) hold and secure the kingdom.
 
A successful 3rd Crusade is fairly believable, but a Great Wall isn't.

Actually, in the case of the City of Jerusalem, one wouldn't actually need to build a giant wall à la the Great Wall - one could do what Süleyman the Magnificent ordered several centuries later and just rebuild Jerusalem's walls - that is, if they need major repair.
 
Top